Since being arrested with three other men in the incident three years ago, Robin Wainuhea Dudoit, 57, of Kaunakakai has been involved in efforts to work with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to set fishing limits for Molokai, said his friend Walter Ritte Jr.

He said problems have grown as escort boats for canoe and paddling races have arrived early from Oahu and Maui to fish in Molokai waters.

“Now we have an opportunity to work within the system to solve our problems,” Ritte said during the sentencing hearing Thursday for Dudoit. “He’s already an example of how not to do things, and he’s also an example of how to do things the right way by going through the system.”

Second Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza granted Dudoit’s request for a chance to keep a felony conviction off his record if he follows court requirements for the next five years.

“That provides incentive to you for the next five years to lead a life that’s law abiding and hopefully one that continues to encourage people to do things the right way,” Cardoza told Dudoit.

“Encourage a process of healing and communication as opposed to a process of anger or retaliation or a staking of rights or claims,” Cardoza said.

Dudoit, Floyd Kumukoa Kapuni, Kaiula Kalawe English and Albert Dudoit Jr. were arrested after investigation into the May 25, 2014, incident in waters off east Molokai.

Fishing equipment was damaged and one person was pushed overboard when the Molokai men boarded Oahu resident Dr. Daryl Wong’s boat carrying five people, said Deputy Prosecutor Johann Smith.

“The defendant is the one who gave all the instructions to the muscle on the boat,” Smith said. “The defendant is the one who egged them on, instigated violence.”

Smith said Robin Dudoit told the other defendants: “Take their fish, take their spear guns.”

Smith said Dudoit told the victims: “You’re stealing our fish. I’m going to drown you. This is your only warning. If we catch you here again, we’re going to kill you. Tell everybody.”

“He carried out this crime to send a message, not only to the victims on the boat but to everybody else,” Smith said. “But it’s Robin Dudoit that needs to get the message — violence, bullying, threatening to kill people and drown them is not to be tolerated in this state.”

When the boat carrying the Molokai men approached the Oahu boat, one diver was in the water and had to go underwater as the boat sped over him, Smith said. He said another victim was wearing a weight belt when he was pushed into the water.

Dudoit struggled with the owner of a spear gun, which broke as both men tugged on it, Smith said.

“Somebody could have gotten really hurt or died here,” Smith said. “Luckily, nobody got hurt.”

“This is not an act of social activism,” Smith said. “It was an act of piracy meant to harm, scare these innocent fishermen and woman so they would not come back to the defendant’s private space.”

Dudoit had pleaded no contest to first-degree terroristic threatening. In exchange, the state dismissed two counts of second-degree robbery, first-degree unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and harassment.

In court Thursday, Dudoit said, “I’m just very sorry that happened.”

His attorney, Dexter Kaiama, said Dudoit has no prior criminal record and had already started attending anger management sessions.

“He’s held in very high esteem on Molokai,” said Ritte, who was among about a dozen people in the courtroom gallery to support Dudoit.

Walter Naki said he grew up with Dudoit.

“We had a lifestyle of fishing, hunting, surfing with no regards for the resources and no idea,” Naki said. “And all of a sudden, we have kids and grandkids. We’re trying to save our resources for the future.”

Kaiama said Dudoit “has been actively involved in the protection of natural resources all of his life.”

“There have been many conflicts over the years over the protection of the natural resources,” Kaiama said. “Now there’s consideration of a community-based subsistence fishing area to make sure that the natural resources and the ocean resources are legislatively protected. So this kind of incident need not happen in the future.”

In sentencing Dudoit, Cardoza said that the situation reminded him of conflicts years ago over salmon fishing in Washington state.

“They all felt they were dead right,” Cardoza said. “More than one person died as a result of this conflict. Finally, after years, the Native Americans, the commercial fishermen and the sports fishermen realized this was getting nowhere other than violence, bodily injury and death.

“So they came up with a novel idea. They started to talk to each other, and they decided to work on a solution that would be fair to everyone. It worked. Finally, they found their own solution.”

Cardoza said that could be done on Molokai.

“Through dialog, community rule-making and just plain old respect for each other, this can be done the right way,” Cardoza said. “If it’s done any other way, it will deteriorate. I don’t think anyone here wants a circumstance where might is right. It’s not going to work for anyone.”

Dudoit was ordered to pay $8,250 in restitution, covering damage to Wong’s boat, one man’s fins and another man’s spear gun and fins. Co-defendants will share in the cost with Dudoit.

Smith said Dudoit and Kapuni, 34, who is awaiting sentencing were the “main actors” in the incident.

English, 28, pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of harassment. At his sentencing Feb. 3, English was given a chance to keep the conviction off his record if he complies with court requirements for six months. English agreed to share in paying $2,962 in restitution.

After being sentenced in September 2015, Albert Dudoit Jr., 29, had a second-degree terroristic threatening charge kept off his record when he complied with court requirements for one year.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.

* Threatening sentence. Robin Wainuhea Dudoit remained aboard a boat carrying Molokai residents when it approached another boat from Oahu on May 25, 2014, in waters off Molokai. Dudoit didn’t struggle with the owner of a spear gun, as was incorrectly reported in a story about Dudoit’s sentencing that was published Friday on Page A3.

The Maui News apologizes for the error.